Brother's Reunited
by lisa.marie.d
Summary: With Ra's after Oliver to accept his offer, help comes from the person Oliver least expected. And Ra's won't know what hit him.
1. Chapter 1

Author Note: Set during the rooftop scene during 3.18 Public Enemy. The only one of Team Arrow there is Oliver.

"I will never join you," Oliver dressed as the Arrow shouted.

Ra's Ah Ghul stepped forward, unsheathing his blade; he could hear the Police helicopters closing in.

"Leave the kid alone," A familiar voice said behind them all, clear and deadly. Oliver pivoted where he stood, looking in shock at the sight of Slade Wilson on the rooftop lazily holding a katana in his hand.

"Slade?" Oliver questioned confused. Had he escaped? How had he escaped? Why was he here?

"Been doing a lot of thinking since you left me kid. I realized you're it, all I have left. Shado and Yao Fei are gone, Wintergreen betrayed me, and Joe probably wouldn't even know what I looked like anymore. And you told me once that it was Ivo that chose to kill Shado, not you, is it true?" Slade asked.

Oliver nodded speechless. Ra's Ah Ghul took this opportunity to take another step closer. Slade saw this and quickly closed the distance, putting himself in front of Oliver and leveling his blade at the Demon.

"I told you to leave the kid alone," he growled. He raised the katana so it closed the distance between himself and Ra's.

"Mr. Queen fulfilled the prophecy, he will become the next Ra's Ah Ghul." Ra's said calmly sizing Slade up.

"This kid?" Slade said shocked, "you want him as the next Demon?" Slade shook his head and turned slightly towards Oliver, "you sure I'm not hallucinating anymore?"

Oliver smiled briefly; he had missed Slade's sarcastic humor but shook his head. "He's not kidding" Oliver answered.

"Right then," and without pause Slade's head swung back and his leg struck out and slammed into a shocked Ra's stomach sending him flying into the assassins that stood behind him. Slade turned, grabbed Oliver by the shoulder and ran, jumping off the roof with him just as the lights of the helicopter shone on the rooftop.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

Oliver followed Slade as he twisted and turned through alleys and small streets in the Glades until he stopped at a small discrete house in the middle of a street. Slade pulled out a brick in the paving and grabbed a key that was behind it and opened the door and went inside, Oliver still following.

Once they were inside Oliver asked quietly "how?"

"A man named Floyd Lawton did the guard duty shift for a while after our encounter. He talked a lot. And eventually I began listening. Then thinking. He said he had some experience with drugs messing with memories and helped me shift through everything. There were a lot of things I thought were true that weren't upon reflection. And if they weren't true, those memories were and still are as vivid as if they happened yesterday, then what about other memories, older memories? The ones right after I was injected with the Mirakiru. And Lawton agreed with me. He asked who knew what happened then, and you're it kid. Lawton also told me what's been going on here. And so when he left so did I." he looked Oliver straight on, "I'm sorry kid."

Oliver looked into Slade's eyes for a moment, trying to identify any hint of deception. Slade had killed his mother after all. But he was also one of the only reasons Oliver had survived the island; Slade had also helped to save Sara's life that one time too. So he sat and began talking. The first time ever he had talked in length about what happened back then. And Slade listened, his fist's clenching tighter and tighter as he realized barely any of his memories were real.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

Authors Note: Sara is not dead. Nyssa used the Lazarus Pit on her in secret. But still in the principle of things, the League wanted someone to pay for the crime of killing one of their own. Sara didn't want Thea to die so she shut up when Oliver took the blame for her death. Nyssa suspects it wasn't Oliver but doesn't have any proof. Laurel knows about Oliver, but she is focusing on her career mostly.

Oliver finished his recount and noticed Slade with shock. The man was crying. He never cried, not even when Shado died. He thought back to the island, now the memories he had tried to bury had become fresh in his head. All the times he had broke down and Slade had been the one to comfort him. He stood without really even thinking about and walked over so he stood in front of Slade. He placed a hand on Slade's shoulder; trying to mirror the comfort it had given him when Slade had done it.

Slade looked up, his eyes swimming with unshed tears.

"Brothers?" Oliver asked, hoping that his Slade was back, that his brother had returned to him.

Slade stood and hugged Oliver. Oliver was completely shocked. He could count on one hand the amount of times they had hugged, and he found he missed it. He had been so uptight since Ivo had killed Shado. Even since he had returned home, all the hugs he had gotten from Thea, his Mum, Laurel, Sara, Felicity, none of them he had allowed himself to relax and enjoy. But as Slade kept hold of him, he found himself relaxing for the first time in years.

They stayed the rest of the night, to recoup and the next morning they headed to the Foundry to meet up with the others. Oliver had sent texts to everyone last night confirming he was safe and making sure they were too.

Slade and Oliver were meet with silence as they descended the stairs. Oliver looked at Felicity and Sara, both, who were standing together, arms crossed and with their best angry faces on.

"He's back," Oliver told them. Sara knew most of it, and he had told Felicity how much Slade had meant to him on the island, how they were brothers before the Mirakiru had changed everything. Then Felicity decided to shock everyone by going up to Slade and hugging him. She whispered in his ear, "He doesn't talk about anything to do with those 5 years away, the only thing he has ever told me was you were his brother, and you and Shado were his family. So please don't let this be a game, I don't think he could handle you leaving again."

Slade slowly released her, and gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm not going anywhere," he said.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

Oliver quickly caught Slade up with what they were facing. He listened closely, but couldn't help the glare he gave Oliver when he recounted the mountain top fight. Oliver got himself a small punch to the shoulder for that.

"Alone, you went alone? You knew he was stronger, faster and more skilled in blade combat and you decided to fight him in single combat. Have you gone crazy? Suicidal?" Slade asked maintaining eye contact with Oliver the whole time.

"What was I meant to do then? Let Thea die for Malcolm's crime? Let Malcolm die and Thea lose another parent? At least with the combat I had a chance, and I had plans in place if I lost, do you think it is a coincidence I fell off the mountain. When I knew I was losing, I pushed the fight closer to the edge, I knew if Ra's had my body he wouldn't left until it was certain that I was dead, my only chance was to fall. I'm not sorry Slade; it was the best I could do with what I had. I never planned for this to get so big. I was meant to come back and right my Father's wrongs alone. I failed, the Undertaking still happened, Tommy died, but in the mean time I gained a team as well. You were always the leader, you knew what to do and I followed. Then you were gone and I had to learn to survive, to become a leader. And it sucks. Okay. I don't know how you did it on the island, when it was freezing, we had no food, and you still kept pushing me to keep moving because Fyer's men were right behind us. There have been so many times I've wanted to give up, times that I have. So I went alone, who was I going to bring? Diggle? He has a kid now. Felicity? Who has the most basic defense skills. Roy? Who is still only beginning training, who is basically the same age as my younger sister. You? You still thought I was the reason Shado was dead. What would you have done anyway? Huh?"

Felicity, Diggle and Roy stood there shocked at Oliver's outburst. Oliver had never been this open with them, ever. They looked at Slade, who seemed to be assessing Oliver with a grim smile.

"I'm proud of you kid." Slade said. Oliver's jaw dropped. So did the rest of the team. "I got to Lian Yu a year before you washed up. You knew Billy betrayed me, but you don't know when. The plane had crashed. We had just gotten ourselves out of the wreckage and were assessing the damage when Fyers and his men arrived. We were both restrained, while Fyers was talking into his walkie talkie to his boss. That was when Billy offered to join them. Give them all the intel we had in exchange for his life. No mention of saving my life, just his. And Fyers accepted. Billy was released and I just stood there shocked. He had been my partner for years, godfather to my son. He was family, and he betrayed me. One of the guards knocked me out at Fyers say so, and the next thing I knew I was tied by my wrists in the middle of Fyers camp. That year, the whole year, every day of it, I was tortured from the moment I woke up to the moment I fell unconscious and they decided to let me stay that way. It took a whole year but one of the guards didn't tie me as tightly as they should have one night, and when I woke during the middle of the night I managed to free myself and run. Not to long after that I met you. And lets be honest kid, I'm pretty sure a girl scout would have been more useful than you were at the beginning. But soon we became friends, and then brothers. It took quite a bit for me to trust you after how Billy betrayed me, but I did. I never trusted Yao Fei or even Shado the same. But you always looked at me for the answers, for orders, for permission for every small thing. You gave me your trust completely, and that's what your team has given you. I never gave up because you never gave up on me."

Slade had placed his hand on Oliver's shoulder during this, and it seemed to the rest of the team, that he and Oliver had forgotten they were there. They both had the haunted look in their eyes that Oliver had when he remembered the past. None of them had really contemplated what Oliver had gone through on the island, and they certainly hadn't given thought to what Slade had gone through.

"I have something for you," Oliver said quietly, as he went to the crate that held his things from the island. He opened it and gently lifted a wrapped bundle and gave it to Slade. Slade unwrapped it to reveal two katana blades, his spares that he used to keep at the fuselage. He looked up at Oliver with a grin he hadn't smiled in years. Since the island, when he had killed Billy. The grin that said that he was ready to fight, and to win.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

Slade had gone through all the information in his head. The Demon had basically tried to steal his psychotic Mirakiru plan. To isolate Oliver before striking. And to be honest it was a good plan. But it wouldn't work if his support team stayed loyal. And he still had Felicity, Roy, Diggle, Sara and Laurel. Thea and Malcolm needed some convincing. Slade mentally added sparring with the man so he could lay in a few 'innocent' punches to his to do list. Or just punching him outright, it would depend on the mood he's in on the day. But Oliver had lost Walter when Moira had died, which he knew was his fault, and he had lost Lance and most importantly he had lost the support of his city.

Well first thing to do was to get Walter in on the secret. The team needed the high-end support that would come with being a business man, and someone who had more knowledge of how the city was currently working.

"I'm going out kid. I promise to be careful." Oliver still looked at his worriedly but didn't say anything as Slade left the Foundry.

Slade quickly made it to Walter's house. Luckily the man hadn't moved since he had last been in Starling. He quietly entered through the balcony window and crept towards Walter who was asleep in his bed. He shoved a hand over Walter's mouth to muffle any noise and also served the purpose of waking Walter up. Walter started struggling once he saw it was Slade that was holding his down and muffling his screams.

"I need to talk. Just talk. You are the kid's family and you deserve to know the truth. He needs his family, he needs your support. Now more than ever. Will you at least listen? I'm not armed, I'm just here to talk."

Slade didn't move his hand until Walter nodded. And so Slade moved back and sat at the end of the bed and began talking. He briefly mentioned his own past, and then recounted how Oliver's boat had gone down. How he had seen it that night, from a cave in one of the mountains. The explosion. And that he had had enough training to recognize the use of explosives when he saw it. He told Walter his suspicions, something he had never told Oliver, because he knew what that knowledge would of done to him. He told him how he saw the life raft floating out at sea. How no rescue boats or planes came. How the first few days were for Oliver and then their time together on the island. He struggled through telling him about the Mirakiru and how in his revenge plan he had kept tabs on Oliver during the rest of his five years away. Another thing he hadn't told Oliver. He knew he had to tell him eventually, but he didn't want to chance losing him again. He told Walter about Oliver becoming the vigilante and all the good the kid had done. And finally what had happened with the League. And how badly Oliver needed support and help right now.

Walter sat through the whole talk silently. Absorbing everything Slade said. And he had already come to a decision before Slade had even gotten to Oliver's second year away. He was going to help him. He hadn't been very involved with Oliver when he had returned. He thought giving him space would have been a good idea. But he now saw that space was the last thing Oliver needed.

"I'll be there tomorrow."

Slade nodded satisfied. He held out his hand, and Walter shook it. Slade rose and walked out the balcony door. He turned his head at the last second before jumping off the balcony.

"Welcome to the team."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six:

Authors note: Diggle is at home with his daughter.

Oliver and the team had stood silent, Felicity with her mouth gaping as Slade walked down into the Foundry with Walter behind him. Walter walked closer to Oliver and then after a few attempts to find the right words, began.

"Slade broke into my house last night. And he told me about your five years away and what you have been doing since you came back to Starling. I know you feel like your parents are gone, and in a way they are, but I'm still here. I foolishly thought if you needed something you would of came to me, but I see know that was completely wrong. I just want you to know, I'm here for you son. I will support you and be there for you and Thea from now on."

The silence continued with Oliver's only response a small smile and nod at Walter and then giving Slade his best Arrow look and mouthing "you broke in?"

Felicity broke the silence. "Well this is all great and everything. I mean Walter on the team. Yay! But those bank robbers aren't stopping to give us the time to celebrate. So shoo! Go suit up and give them the grr look that you just gave Slade." Roy snorted but grabbed his bow and suit and went to change, with Oliver and Sara following suit. Walter looked a bit lost, which Felicity and Slade noticed. Slade went over to where he usually sat next to Felicity and grabbed the extra chair on his way, wheeling it to the other side. He gestured to Walter and the man took a seat.

Walter sat back and just listened as the voices of Oliver, Roy and Sara came through the audio system. Felicity directed them mostly, with Slade giving helpful tips to Roy, who was still learning on how to sneak up on the robbers. Everything went smoothly until Oliver had the ring leader subdued and was questioning him to where they had hid the stolen goods from the bank they had robbed two nights ago. He was using, as Felicity termed, his grr voice. And Slade began to look slightly constipated, with his expression getting worse as Oliver continued to grr talk. Felicity began smiling too, though put her hand to her mouth to hold in her laughter. It was all ruined when Roy's voice came through the system.

"You guys have broken your previous record for not laughing," he informed them. Slade and Felicity immediately began laughing, with Roy and Sara joining in through the connection. Once they got their laughter under control to Walter's confusion, Slade began badly mimicking Oliver's grr voice, which made Felicity and the others start laughing again.

The foundry door slammed shut 20 minutes later as Oliver in his Arrow outfit stormed down the steps, with Roy and Sara following behind him. He stalked straight up to the computers where the three were still sitting. They had all swerved around when the door had slammed. Slade grinned up at him completely at ease under Oliver's growl.

"I had to knock the guy out because I couldn't keep a straight face, thanks to you, and your horrible impressions." This caused them all to start laughing, and Walter to smile.

"You have failed this city," sounds ridiculous in your accent" Oliver announced as he walked towards the Salmon Ladder to work off some stress.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven:

Slade was sitting at one of the desks at the Foundry looking at the blank computer screen. He was thinking of who he was going to convince to rejoin Oliver next, when Roy sat in the seat next to him.

"What are you doing?" Roy asked curiously. Slade looked at him and decided to share his thoughts.

"Thinking of who to convince to join us next. Thea and Malcolm or Lance. Thea would be easiest, and I can just beat Malcolm to a bloody pulp and drag him here afterwards. But I killed her mother. Not that I can really remember it. The Mirakiru messed with so many of my memories, but the cure. It's left holes. And killing Moira is one of them. I don't regret the majority of the deaths I've caused, but hers I do, and I can't even remember it. Can't remember what I was thinking, how I felt, the look on her face as she took her final breath. And that makes it so much harder; to mourn someone you only have a handful of memories of. I was never much for caring before the Mirakiru either; the kid was the only one I really openly cared for. Shado I loved, but I never showed it." He finished in barely a whisper.

"The Mirakiru messed me up too. I killed a cop. Couldn't remember it for months after I was cured. Then I started dreaming about killing someone. Couldn't see who for weeks, and then my dreams showed me killing Sara. I confessed to the team and everything. It was just so vivid, like a memory. And that was when they told me how I killed him. And I can sort of remember it with him there. But the dream of me killing Sara, it seems so much more real than the memory of me killing the cop. Everything from when I was affected by the Mirakiru just doesn't seem real. The rage for one, I have memories of it, but I just can't imagine ever being that angry. It was like every single bit of me was enraged. I was only affected for months, I can't even imagine what it would have been like to be under its effect for years."

Slade gave a nod and sighed, running his hands through his hair. He had forgotten the kid had been injected. He had been so busy trying to make things right with Oliver and Felicity, and fixing Oliver's team for him that he had forgotten that his actions had lead to making this kids life hell too. He had made the kid a murderer.

"It's not your fault you know." Roy said casually. "I have first hand knowledge of how much the Mirakiru controls a person. I'm probably the only one on the Team that understood and was happy when Oliver rang and said he was bringing you here, and you were joining the team. Even when you were evil, I liked you better than Malcolm." He finished with a cheeky grin. That quickly vanished when Slade clenched his hands into fists at the mention of Malcolm.

"I would gladly kill him. I was watching when the storm hit. I had seen the boat sail past and thought it was connected to Fyers. So I stayed in the cave on the highest part of Lian Yu and watched it. And I watched when it exploded. All the time I had spent in the Navy and Special Forces allows me to recognize explosives, and that boat was packed to the brim with them. It was a wonder anyone survived. But I saw the life boat. It was too far away for me to do anything though. But I waited in that cave. Waited for rescue parties to arrive. Whether it be from Fyers if the boat was connected to him or from the outside world if it was just an innocent recreation boat. Nothing came. The kid made it to the Island eventually and met up with Yao Fei, but I still kept watch, with a flare hoping for a way home. It never came. The kid and I met, and every opportunity he had he would look at this photo of Laurel, his last connection with his past. He eventually learnt to climb onto the top of the Fuselage so he could see the ocean. He was convinced for a long time that they were simply searching other parts of the ocean and would make it here soon. He even accused Fyers once of keeping the search parties away from Lian Yu, away from finding him. But I saw Fyers face as he laughed. He had nothing to do with it. Then the kid tells me everything the other day. Malcolm and his mother sabotaged the boat. They put the explosives on it. They were the ones content to declare them dead and not search for survivors. Every single bad thing that has happened to the kid, and frankly to me since that boat exploded is entirely in their hands. It is probably why I can't bring myself to regret killing Moira, and having the urge to kill Malcolm. He is responsible for so many bad things, he is the type of person I would have been sent on a mission to get rid of, yet here the kid is saying that for Thea's sake we need to keep him alive."

Slade shook his head then, making a frustrated sound. To him, Malcolm was as much of an evil as Ra's was; yet Oliver didn't treat him as such. Felicity hated Malcolm's gut; he knew that and agreed with everything he thought about the man too.

"I'll help you talk to Thea. She knows about me having the Mirakiru and maybe if I explain it to her she will understand easier. And if you so happen to feel the need to punch Malcolm a few times, I can provide an alibi. Only if you give me one too." Roy said with a small grin. He stood and offered his hand to Slade to help him stand. Slade took it and they left the Foundry together to go to the loft and talk to Thea.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight:

They decided to go with the forward approach and walk in the front door. Which was considerably easier than Slade thought, as it wasn't locked. He would have to talk to Oliver about that. Even an extra few seconds of notice a locked door could provide, could mean the difference between life and death from an attack. Malcolm quickly appeared out of the shadows on his right wielding a blade. Roy dodged out of the way quickly and Slade ducked under as the blade sliced side wards through the air. He made short work of disarming Malcolm and four contact moves later he managed to land his first hit, which happened to be his knee connecting with Malcolm's groin. The man hesitated due to the shock and pain for a second, which was all Slade needed to deliver a punch straight to the face that knocked him out.

He turned to Roy and mirrored the smile that was on the boy's face.

"That felt good." He said with a grin.

"What are you doing here? You should be on Lian Yu in the prison cell. Roy, what's happening?" Thea asked. She was armed too, with another blade and had taken a defensive stance rather than the attack one Malcolm had used.

"Thea, it's okay. Slade is helping us stop Ra's Ah Ghul. Oliver knows, everyone is on board with it." Roy said trying to calm her.

"How could my brother work with someone who killed our mother?" Thea asked, not lowering her blade.

"How could you leave your brother to go with the man responsible for killing your father, even if Robert wasn't your biological father he still raised and loved you, the man who sentenced your brother to five years of hell, is responsible for the death of your other brother and at least 503 other people?" Slade countered. If he had learnt one thing dealing with Oliver in those early months it was that you had employ tough love to get through to members of the Queen family, because if you gave them an inch and they would stretch it a mile.

Roy smartly decided to shut up when Slade said that, regardless that he agreed, if Thea didn't agree this was going to go down hill fast and they wouldn't be able to talk reason into her.

"He is all I have left," Thea said quietly. Slade's eye and posture softened when he heard that.

"He's not Thea, you have Oliver and Walter, you have Roy and if you need someone else you have me, as I doubt you could talk more than the kid can." He finished with a small fond smile.

"Oliver talked your ear off? He barely speaks." Roy exclaimed without meaning to, even Thea looked curious.

Slade sat down on the couch, making himself comfortable. "I can tell you about it if you want?" he offered.

Roy immediately sat down on the coffee table facing Slade waiting for the man to start talking, he was always willing to hear about the Island, it helped him understand Oliver better. Thea hesitated but lowered the blade, though didn't let go of it and sat down on the other end of the coffee table. She really needed to get another couch.

"Okay, so…" Slade began with a small smile on his face as he remembered the few nicer moments from his time on the Island.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Authors note: Don't worry, I wasn't doing to leave it there but the chapter was getting a bit long. So here is Slade's story

"It was about two weeks after we met, we were just getting used to each other. Well he was getting used to me, I was still tolerating him. The both of us stank, the nearest lake was a lot closer to Fyers territory than I was comfortable with, but it was summer and there hadn't been rain for a while for us to wash, so we made the trek to the lake, being very careful. I had just stripped off and waded in when I noticed the kid was frozen. Still on the bank staring with horror at the lake. Now this lake wasn't like the ocean at all, it was probably the size of a swimming pool and about just as deep. It was clear too, you could see the bottom. But the kid was terrified. I walked out and went up to him. I slowly talked him into stripping," He smirked at that, which made Roy give him a skeptical look, "okay, there may have been minor threats made. But we were in enemy territory. It was one thing to be caught, but caught naked? I wasn't going to let that happen if I could help it. Anyway, once he had stripped, I began asking him questions about home. Started off small, names and ages of the family, where he lived and I didn't even get to ask what his house looked like and he began telling me about everything. Growing up, school, girlfriends, flings, everything about Tommy, how distant his parents were, and then he got to you Thea. He relaxed enough when he started talking about your birth I managed to begin guiding him towards the water. He was telling me about your first word when his feet made contact with the water. But he didn't even notice. He kept telling me everything, you learning to walk, to run, how he nicknamed you Speedy, how you learnt to ride a horse, getting the silver medal in an archery contest, he was so proud of you for that, he just kept talking about you, only you, as we bathed. He still kept talking about you as we got out and got dressed. And he kept going as we made our way back to the fuselage. And he didn't shut up about you until I slapped him over the head and threatened to gag him because it was hours after the sun had set and I wanted to go to sleep. And for the first time since we had met he went to sleep with a smile on his face. He didn't have any nightmares either that night. You were with him on the Island Thea, you helped him get over his fear of water, and you helped him sleep that night and many others. Will you help him now, he might not be stuck on that Island now, but he needs help now more than ever." Slade finished. He noticed Roy was looking at Thea too.

"He lied to me, everyone lied to me, for all I know they still could be." Thea whispered. "Why couldn't they just be honest with me, Malcolm promised to be honest to me."

Slade leant forward slightly; he placed a finger under Thea's chin and lifted it until they were looking at each other. "I promise to always tell you the truth. You will always be able to ask me anything, and I will tell you to the best of my knowledge the truth. No matter how many growly faces Oliver gives me."

Roy laughed at that and even Thea smiled.

"I'll help Ollie," Thea said, her smile being joined with Roy's and Slade's. At that moment Malcolm began stirring. Not noticeable to most people, but Slade was trained to notice any movement. He and Roy began walking towards the door, when Malcolm thrust himself upwards, catching Roy off guard. Slade was expecting it though and had his fist already curled in anticipation and rammed it right into Malcolm's stomach sending the man stumbling backwards.

"We should spar sometime Malcolm, I have so much tension you are responsible for. It's only fair you help me work it off."

"What?" Thea asked.

"I'll give him the rest of the night to tell you himself. Roy will send you my number now," Roy nodded and got his phone out to forward the number through, "ring me anytime. Night or day, and I'll answer and we can talk. I promised to always tell you the truth and I will keep my promise." Slade promised. Thea nodded and the two men walked out of the apartment, the night was young and they could fit in a patrol.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten:

Malcolm had reluctantly told Thea about some of his involvement in the Queen's Gambit explosion, but Thea had rung Slade and after he finished patrolling he went back to the loft and told her everything he knew about Malcolm's and in turn Moira's involvement. He rang Walter before he arrived though, and just as he was finishing telling Thea, Walter had arrived and held her as she cried. She had not spoken to Malcolm since and the man had made himself scarce to the rest of the team as well. Slade had also told Oliver everything, from his suspicions about the Queen's Gambit to following him once Waller had kidnapped him during his third year away all the way until he had made himself known the previous year. Oliver had listened and they talked but he forgave him and it made Slade feel lighter that there were no secrets left.

Oliver had taken Thea joining the team well. If well was defined as breaking his glaring at Slade record by two hours. He had broken it by grabbing his bow and stalking out of the foundry informing them he would patrol alone tonight as he needed space.

Slade grabbed this opportunity to implement the next part of his plan. It was also brilliant that everyone else was there. He wheeled the whiteboard in front of the desk where everyone was sitting, a part from Roy and Sara who were training. He motioned them over with his hand. With everyone assembled he began writing in capital letters in the middle of the board:

PROJECT: CAPTAIN LANCE

Sara snickered at this.

"Please tell me I did not get a brainstorming session?" Thea asked.

"No, you and Walter were easy. I knew you both would see sense easily. Lance however, I have got no idea, hence," and he pointed to the whiteboard.

They all sat quietly for a while, no one really had an idea. Lance was certain that Oliver was behind the killings, and instead of hating himself for trusting the Arrow he was directing the rage entirely at him.

"We could try something similar to how you approached me." Walter offered. He was sitting next to Thea, the two had been very close since the night when Thea had learnt the truth.

"I'm pretty sure Dad sleeps with a gun, maybe more than one." Sara inputted.

"One person isn't going to be enough to convince him," Felicity added.

Slade's brainstorm soon included helpful information such as;

· Watch out for guns- he sleeps with them,

· Maybe ambush him when he's asleep, do it with more than one person,

· Possible booby traps, hidden cameras,

· Telling him the Arrow is Oliver may make things worse,

· He likes extra strong coffee bribe him with it (Felicity may have the assumption that coffee solves most problems) and

· Kidnap him and keep talking until he listens (Roy's suggestion, though Slade liked it)

When Oliver walked in, they were too busy arguing about whether kidnapping should be an option for Slade to remember he was meant to be keeping this a secret from the kid.

He remembered though when he turned to add something to the board and collided with the kids back as he read the board. Very wisely he back stepped until he was safely behind Felicity. Roy was completely right about having no shame about hiding behind her when Oliver got really angry. The rest of the group was silent apart from Roy's snicker as Slade retreated.

Oliver turned around slowly. "He sleeps with guns?" He asked looking slightly shocked. Slade smiled, knowing he had been forgiven from the small smile on the kids face. They went back to brainstorming, eventually agreeing that due to the possibly of cameras or hidden microphones it would be safer to kidnap him and try and convince Lance that Oliver was innocent in a safe location and to join the team.


	11. Chapter 11

Note: Yes, Lance is a Captain. But Felicity always preferred calling him Detective and so do I. You also may have noticed the reference to the "Lessons Universe" fanfiction (Oliver hiding behind Slade like Roy hides behind Felicity)- read it if you haven't it is brilliant.

Chapter Eleven:

So they planned it out, Sara and Laurel (who reluctantly agreed) had dinner at a small restaurant in the Glades where the owner felt he owed the Vigilante's as they had saved his business from the Chinese Mob a few months back. He never once believed that they were responsible for the killings. Especially when the Arrow and Arsenal had come by his restaurant to collect arrows at midnight one night (they had, with permission, stored a few quivers worth there in case of emergency) and had stayed to have a quick drink at his request, and the next day the headlines read that the Arrow had killed some corrupt businessman at midnight. But it was not like he could call the police and tell them that.

While the Lance's were having dinner, Sara used her League training to slip a sedative into her Dad's drink. Soon he was getting dizzy and they quietly made their way out of the restaurant. Diggle was waiting in the van and Roy and Slade were in the back to help Sara lift him. Laurel was to drive back her car that they bought down. They managed to get the sedated Lance back to the Foundry without any hassle and Felicity, Thea and Walter sat silently as Lance was put on the cot in the corner of the room. Sara grabbed all his weapons and his cell phone off him and Felicity used her technology to check for any recording, camera, and monitoring or location devices.

Around 15 minutes later Lance began stirring. He looked around groggily and then sat upright calling for Sara and Laurel. Sara immediately went over but the relief in his eyes was immediately overtaken by anger as he noticed Oliver. Oliver saw this and tried to very discretely move to stand behind Slade. Recruiting Lance was his idea after all. This caused Roy to snicker and Slade to join in. Thea and Walter smiled.

"You, I knew it. I always knew it was you. You're nothing but a murdering psycho Queen; I'm taking you in once and for all." Lance began walking over to Oliver when Sara stepped between them.

"You have to listen to us first Dad. We are all ready to talk. About everything that happened. If you still want to arrest Oliver after you listen then I'll help you. But I know you will listen to reason, just please give us a chance to explain."

"Confess then, but don't be surprised if I don't fall for your little sob story like everyone else." Lance spat.

So Slade began talking about Fyers and why he was on the Island to begin with, with Oliver cutting in to explain what happened when he first arrived. They mostly kept to the basics about everything, Lance actually shedding a tear when Sara arrived on the Island and Oliver was forced to choose between her and Shado. Oliver told him about the other two years, the horrors he faced under Amanda Waller's command, joining the Bratva and ending up back on the Island. It was the first time they had heard Oliver talk in depth about those five years, but they noticed he kept glancing at Slade, seeking reassurance from his mentor to continue.

Oliver talked about what had happened when he got back, how ingrained his and Tommy's parents had been in the Undertaking. Trying to save the city. Tommy's death causing him to stop killing, to try a better way. How the Mirakiru had caused Slade to go on a rampage. And then the League, how Malcolm had drugged Thea into killing Sara, the Pit being used to bring her back. How he had taken the blame and went to face Ra's Ah Ghul, and survived. How there was a prophecy stating that anyone to survive would become the next Ra's but his refusal causing Ra's to impersonate him and start killing in an attempt to isolate him from his support. How it had nearly worked until Slade came and began fixing everything.

At the end of this, everyone's face either had dried or fresh tears on his or her faces. Including Lance's. He had never given much thought to what had happened in those 5 years Oliver had gone, he had been too focused on his girls. He had worked with the Arrow last year, could he do it again? Now there were people to put behind the masks. People who he knew and some he cared for, like his daughters and Felicity. He knew that when dealing with Vigilantes you couldn't use the law to justify their actions; you had to use your own sense of right and wrong. And for the first time in months his heart was telling him this was right.

His decision must have showed on his face as they were all grinning, Oliver and Slade were slightly smirking. He shook his head and gave a small grin in return as a peace offering.

"Welcome to Team Arrow Detective!" Felicity said with a smile. This caused the rest to chuckle while Oliver groaned.

"We are not calling ourselves that Felicity," Oliver exclaimed as he walked off to the Salmon Ladder.

"Don't listen to him, let me give you a tour of the Arrow Cave," she offered to be met with another groan from Oliver and laughter from the rest of the team.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve:

Now that Slade had Walter, Thea and Lance on the bandwagon, he moved onto the next part of his plan. Stop Ra's Ah Ghul impersonating the Arrow and hoping the city would start supporting Oliver as the vigilante again. He had a feeling this would not be as easy as the first part of the plan. So with Felicity's help he called another team meeting.

On the way to the Foundry he paused to stop a mugging, making him late. As he walked down the stairs he noticed Lance was at the whiteboard with the others sitting around the desk. Maybe they had started brainstorming without him. He paused when he saw the larger than normal grin on Oliver's face and Lance's scowl.

"I don't sleep with a gun. That would be stupid." Slade nodded as agreeance, giving Felicity a quick questioning look wondering why she didn't clean off the board.

"I obviously keep it on the bedside table. I sleep with a knife." Lance continued, Slade froze then and looked at the man in shock. Even on the Island he had only kept one weapon in arms length as he slept and that was his sheathed sword. Was the man simply paranoid to keep a fully loaded gun and a knife so close, or was there a reason?

"You would be surprised at how many threats I get, especially these days." Though Slade was still slightly shocked, he took note of that knowledge.

"I can install a silent alarm at your house Detective, that way when you activate it a message gets sent to everyone of us, and then 2 minutes later a concealed voice that I programmed will send a call to the police stating your address and that it is an emergency." Felicity offered.

"That would be appreciated Miss Smoak," Lance said with a smile. He then sat down and Slade began erasing the board. Just as he finished writing PROJECT: STOP RA'S Felicity's computers began beeping loudly. She rushed over to them and began reading. She turned and faced them looking pale and horrified.

"The Arrow is currently massacring people at Starling Mall." She said.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen:

The team jumped into action immediately. Lance ran up the stairs and left straight away, with Oliver, Roy and Sara grabbing their gear to get changed. Diggle was grabbing his guns and the van's keys and ran up the stairs to get the van ready. Walter and Thea were shocked and went over to offer Felicity help. Slade watched as the three vigilantes' ran up the stairs fully suited and carrying their weapons. He looked towards his swords that were on display. He had promised Oliver to not go out there. He was meant to be dead after all. But he came back to stop Ra's hurting the kid. And he was going to keep his word.

He grabbed his blades and sheaths and attached them to his back. He went to the gun draw and grabbed two with holsters and quickly attached them, he shoved a handful of clips into his pocket. He lastly grabbed two ankle knives and attached them. He stood up, only to find Felicity in front of him. She was holding a mask. It looked very similar to his Deathstroke mask, but instead of black it was a dark green and the striking orange was now darker, almost red in colour. She was also holding an ear comm device. He put the mask and ear comm on, offered his thanks and ran out of the foundry, stole one of the kid's motorbikes and hurried to catch up with Oliver.

Oliver and the team arrived first; jumping out of the van they ran into the shopping mall and began engaging the League. Ra's had bought 20 men with him, and they had already killed dozens of people from Oliver's quick glance. Yet he couldn't see Ra's anywhere. He was just disarming the last man standing from the League when a small knife flew above him into the wall, right next to the head of Ra's Ah Ghul. The man must have been hiding in the shadows while his men were killing and fighting his team. He turned around to see where the knife came from to see Slade, sword out and masked. Green and a deeper orange, he wondered where he had got the mask from.

"What will it take for you to leave him alone?" Slade questioned. Lance and the rest of the police force had just arrived. Though Oliver could see they were creating a barrier currently and getting people a fair distance away from the entrance.

"I have told you before-"Ra's began only to be interrupted by Slade, "he was chosen by the prophecy, God this sounds like those episodes of Buffy, Felicity is making me watch." Roy and Sara actually laughed outright at that.

"The kid has not been prophesied, he is not the chosen one, he is a kid who has had a shit hand dealt to him for far too long. I know all about you and the League. You have a daughter, let her continue to be your heir. I gave you a warning that night; you have your final warning now. Leave now and forget making the kid your heir or you will face me and my blade, and learn why the mere mention of Deathstroke made grown men cower in fear."

"Laying it on a bit thick huh Slade," Felicity snickered in his ear, causing Roy to snort and Sara to smile. Oliver was openly grinning, now Slade knew how he felt when he did it to him.

Ra's walked closer to the team and seemed to consider them.

"You are more united than before, how?" He asked.

"It was the work of an under appreciated genius," Slade answered with a grin. Oliver groaned at the laughter that was coming through his comm from Felicity, Thea and Walter.

"You believe you can beat me? The Demon" Ra's questioned Slade.

"Easily, I taught the kid. And I have learnt under men who were Master's of their craft. I also have no problems with killing you, so you might want to sort out your heir before you raise that blade, because with it will come your death." He promised.

Ra's hesitated, he had never seen a man so sure of themselves. But a challenge like this could not be ignored. So he slowly unsheathed his blade and began approaching Slade.

Slade began walking towards him to, assessing his opponent just as Ra's was doing with him. He gave one quick look to Oliver to reassure the kid that he would be fine, Felicity's words of how Oliver wouldn't be able to take it if he left sending a rush of determination through his veins. He would win this fight for Oliver.

Slade and Ra's blades connected with a sharp clang. They moved faster than most people would find possible. Though for what seemed forever the only contact was blade against blade. Neither one gave an opening, or showed sign of tiring. The other League members had slowly began to wake from unconsciousness during the fight and were now watching with horror. This man fighting their master was the most skilled swordsman ever. The man, despite his bulk was moving more fluidly than their master and was also using combinations none of them had ever seen or thought of.

The fight continued, but to the Leagues amazement it was their master that was tiring. The man didn't even seem to be breathing heavily. He was still calmly meeting every blow that their master sent his way. Over half an hour later, Ra's had slowed considerably, everyone knew that Slade was just toying with him now.

"Just finish it Slade," Oliver said quietly though his voice echoed throughout the mall. Slade gave a nod and then quickly sent a quick series of attacks towards Ra's with one connecting with his side creating a gaping wound. He then followed it through by sliding his sword into Ra's body and stabbing his heart. Ra's was dead. The members of the League immediately bowed to the man that had defeated their master, he was now the next Ra's Ah Ghul.

Slade knelt and took off the Demon's ring and then threw it towards the shadows. Nyssa caught it and walked into view. She slid the ring on her finger and faced the League daring anyone of them to challenge her claim. No one did.

"Nyssa is the head of the League now," Slade said as he sheathed his sword after he had wiped it quickly with a cloth. He nodded to Oliver, Sara and Roy and they quickly made their way through the building with Felicity guiding them to an unwatched exit. They were safe and free.

Authors note: This seems like the ending to me, but if you have an idea for continuing this send me a message and I can try and give it a go. I do like anything to do with Slade being a hero and staying Oliver's friend. So anything along those lines I would love to write. This is my first Arrow fanfiction but it definitely will not be my last, so keep an eye out for more.


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